Page 40 of Storm Warning

“And how is telling law enforcement who to look for going to put me in more danger?”

“Because he’s a ghost. They won’t find him.” He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed to get it all out there, and now was the moment. “And don’t you see? If there’s a manhunt for Cole Mercer, that could move up the timeline on his hunt for you, or whatever it is he’s planning.” He shook his head and stared out the window.

He should have recognized the man by his tactics, his movements, if nothing else. But Cole had never been much for using knives. Maybe that tactic, along with the relentless storm, had been enough that Hawk had not recognized or felt any sense of familiarity. Then again, maybe no one would recognize a masked assailant, even if they knew the person well, and Hawk was blaming himself, being too hard on himself.

It didn’t matter who the masked man was, or that the man had turned out to be Hawk’s brother. Right now, he needed to keep Remi safe.Ifshe would let him, and that was a bigif.

God, please help me keep Remi safe!

For too long he believed God wouldn’t hear his prayers anyway, so why bother? But that was all on Hawk. Holding on to his past mistakes, Hawk had been the one to pull away. Funny how desperation changed everything. He was ready to reach out and close the distance he’d created. Move past his own insecurities ... for Remi. He needed to win this time. And he couldn’t do that alone.

I need you, God. I need your help.

Seeing Cole tonight, seeing the contempt in his eyes, had stripped Hawk to the marrow.

“You could have told me this sooner,” she said again.

“Sooner? I just found out tonight, then the deputyshowed up. I’m finding my way through this mess, and believe it or not, I planned to tell you tonight. As for Deputy Hunter, she’s processing through the facts, and those wheels don’t move as fast as we would like. We already know he’s dangerous. I want him caught. Incarcerated. But there’s something I want more than that. I want you to live.”

“And you think you’re the one to protect me. That you’re also the one to find your brother because no one else can do it.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her until she calmed down. No point until she was ready to listen. She was visibly shaking now, and maybe he needed to drive. But she was in no frame of mind for him to suggest it.

“I think...” She growled. “Let’s see how you are. If your head is good. If you’re going to be okay. Then I’ll bring you back to the lodge, and you’re going to check out. You should leave now, Hawk. There’s not going to be any helicopter tour package either, in case you were wondering.”

Oh man. She was kicking him hard, and the pain radiated out of his heart through his body. Between finding Cole tonight, learning he was the man after Remi, and her complete rejection of Hawk, her utter distrust of him, Hawk had never been this down and out. Not even after feeling responsible for Jake’s death, then being fired.

But he couldn’t let any of that keep him down for long. He had to get up and keep going, at least until he handed Remi’s protection off to someone else. He just didn’t know who that was. She’d done fine on her own, but everything had changed and she needed serious help now.

How could Hawk convince her? “Look, that’s not a good idea.”

“You can leave after you tell me everything. Why areyou here, really? What does Cole Mercer have to do with me, and what happened that week in my life that is now gone?”

Hawk’s head was really starting to hurt now. Remi was piling the stress on, but he didn’t blame her. He was upset too. Unfortunately, he didn’t think he could convince her to let him stick around to make sure she was safe. So, he would get his head checked. They would go back to the lodge where he would pack up and ... go where? He shoved off those concerns. Remi was his priority, whether she believed him or not, whether she wanted his help or not.

“I don’t know why he’s here for you, but I intend to find out. As for the reasonI’mhere, someone said I’d find answers at the lodge. I thought he meant I would clear my head and find perspective. Now ... I know differently.” John had sent Hawk here because he suspected ... or heknewthat Cole would show up. There was no other explanation. Somewhere in Hawk’s list of next steps, he needed to find his former CO who must have intel. Hawk would get answers from him. But first, Remi needed protection. She had no idea who she was up against. Hawk wished he didn’t.

Major Cole Mercer.

Cole.My brother.Anguish squeezed Hawk’s chest.

He’d been special forces. A Green Beret. He could blend in anywhere. And now that he’d gone rogue ... “He’s a trained killer, Remi. An assassin.” Hawk had hoped to find Cole and save him, pull him back from the edge, but he’d been caught completely off guard. As if that excuse would remove the weight on Hawk’s shoulders.

Finally at the hospital, she swerved into the parking lot, going much too fast. “What does it say about you that you have an assassin for a brother?”

“The bigger question is what does it say aboutyouthat an assassin is after you? And I promise you, he’s only been toying with you or you’d already be dead.” That must be his modus operandi. “Next time, you won’t see death coming.”

17

Remi paced the waiting room.

“You won’t see death coming.”

She got it now. Dangerous forces were closing in. And Hawk Beckett—the stranger who’d stepped into her life, pulling her from certain death, sending her attacker fleeing twice now—was connected. Just how connected was he exactly? Because he’d been the one to trigger her memories.

He’d explained that someone had suggested he would find the answers at Cedar Trails Lodge. And now he realized the answers had to do with Cole Mercer? There was so much more to that story. Whoever had sent him here could very well know what Remi had forgotten.

Whatever was going on, Remi was freaking out.

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